Schiller Geyser

Key facts

Movements

• Abstract Expressionism
• Contemporary

• What is Schiller Geyser known for?+

  Surviving works attributed to Geyser, preserved through print reproductions, provide the primary record of their artistic activity; however, the biography does not specify what they are known for.
• What is Schiller Geyser's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to identify one single "most famous work" by Schiller Geyser from the available information. Many works are listed, spanning several decades and a range of subjects. Some frequently recurring titles include variations on "Glastrinker" (Glass Drinker), dating from August 1981, and several works with the title "Volkstanz" (Folkdance), created around 1988-1989. There are also numerous pieces simply titled "Untitled", making definitive identification challenging. Other notable titles are "Trummerfrau" (Woman of the Rubble, August 1978), "Stars in the Window" (August 1982), and "Shattered Bridge - Wendish Bride" (April-May 1986). The series "6 Beautiful, 4 Ugly Portraits" from late 1987 to early 1988 also appears to be a significant group of works. Without further context or critical analysis, it is impossible to determine which of these, if any, has achieved the greatest recognition.
• What should I know about Schiller Geyser's prints?+

  Schiller Geyser's prints are produced as 'original prints', offset reproductions, giclée prints, and canvas transfers. Original prints include woodcuts, engravings, linocuts, mezzotints, etchings, lithographs, or serigraphs. These are produced by hand by the artist, making each print an original, created directly on a plate, woodblock, stone, or screen. These original prints are sold through print galleries, frame shops, decorating outlets, and fine art galleries. Offset reproductions, also known as posters, are reproduced by photochemical means. Giclée prints are inkjet fine art prints. Canvas transfers involve transferring the image onto canvas, giving it the appearance of a painting. Original prints are sold in limited editions, commanding higher prices than posters, which are not numbered. The number of prints pulled is limited by the number of impressions that can be made before the plate wears out. Some publishers impose their own limits to increase a print’s value.
• What style or movement did Schiller Geyser belong to?+

  Schiller Geyser belonged to the New York School; this movement marks the shift of the Western art world to New York City after the Second World War, lasting through the 1960s. The term comes from a 1965 Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition, 'The New York School: The First Generation Painting of the 1940s and 1950s'. Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko were all featured. Paintings from the New York School's first generation were large and abstract. They emphasised bold brushstrokes. Critic Harold Rosenberg termed these works 'action painting'. Subjective and gestural, they addressed human impulse and desires. They also commented on society's need to impose order on such expression and to define and control taboos through myth.
• What techniques or materials did Schiller Geyser use?+

  Schiller Geyser's practice involved sandblasting flashed glass. This material typically features a milk-glass body coated with a thin film of another colour, often black or red. The sandblasting technique is similar to methods used for engraving stone. The process requires covering the glass with a stencil, then cutting out the design. Sand is then blasted onto the exposed areas, grinding a relief into the glass. Varying the duration of sandblasting can create different effects, such as a dull grey on a shiny black surface. Geyser also sometimes employed glass painters' colours, which are made permanent by firing in a kiln. The artist's technique allowed for precise designs, with colour possibilities that were limited, but with unusual colour intensity. The artist's method allowed for the creation of glass pictures that could be hung on a wall, or mounted as part of a building, either indoors or outdoors.
• What was Schiller Geyser known for?+

  Schiller Geyser was known for abstract expressionist painting. This movement developed after the Second World War; its centre was New York. Abstract Expressionism has two main lines: gestural abstraction and chromatic abstraction. The gestural abstractionists relied on the expressiveness of energetically applied pigment. The chromatic abstractionists focused on colour's emotional resonance. Arshile Gorky's work provided a bridge between Biomorphic Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Gorky's 1943 painting *Garden in Sochi* was inspired by childhood memories. The forms appear to be abstract shapes; however, they loosely represent a bare-breasted woman, a tree trunk, and Armenian slippers. Abstract Expressionists adopted an artistic vocabulary of pure abstraction. They moved away from a representational approach. Clement Greenberg helped redefine the parameters of modernism by advocating the rejection of illusionism. He thought artists should strive for purity in art.
• When did Schiller Geyser live and work?+

  Schiller Geyser's dates are not present in the provided documents. However, the documents do contain information about several other artists and designers who were working in the early to mid-20th century. Herbert Bayer, for example, was born in Austria in 1900 and died in 1985 in Santa Barbara, California. He studied and taught at the Bauhaus before working as a graphic designer in Berlin. He emigrated to the United States in 1938. Oskar Fischinger, another artist mentioned, was working in Germany in the 1930s, but moved to the United States in 1936 to work in Hollywood. He was considered a "degenerate artist" by the Nazi regime. Jack Youngerman was born in St Louis in 1926. He studied in Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and was influenced by artists such as Henri Matisse and Constantin Brancusi.
• Where can I see Schiller Geyser's work?+

  Schiller Geyser's work can be viewed in several museums. In the United States, these include the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (Winter Park, Florida), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach). In Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) holds pieces by Geyser. In the United Kingdom, you can find Geyser's art at the Bakelite Museum (Williton), the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum (London), the Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland Royal Museum (Edinburgh), and the Victoria & Albert Museum (London). Other museums that hold Geyser's art include the Beaux-Arts Museum of Arras, the Deutsches Historisches Museum (Berlin), the Kunsthaus Zurich, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), and the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam).
• Where was Schiller Geyser from?+

  Schiller Geyser (1759-1805) was born Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, in Marbach am Neckar, Germany. His father was a military doctor in the service of Frederick II of Prussia; Schiller was named in the King's honour. Schiller attended the Karlsschule Stuttgart, initially to study medicine. However, exposure to Enlightenment ideas, particularly the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, inspired him to pursue writing. He abandoned medicine to teach history at the University of Jena. Schiller is best known for his professional association with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Together, they developed Weimar classicism: an aesthetic and cultural philosophy that drew on the ideas of Immanuel Kant. Schiller's work spanned both Weimar classicism and romanticism. His writings are considered part of post-Kantian philosophy. Schiller's theories consider how people might find fulfilment via the creative process. He believed people could achieve a "happy balance" through the active interplay of reason and sensuousness.
• Who did Schiller Geyser influence?+

  Schiller Geyser's influence is difficult to pinpoint with certainty. He was part of a generation of German painters in the 1960s who were reacting against both the recent war and the derivative abstraction that dominated central Europe at the time. These painters, including Georg Baselitz, A.R. Penck, and Gerhard Richter, shared a dissatisfaction with the art world of West Germany. Some, like Baselitz, came from the eastern sector of divided Germany or Bohemia, giving them different artistic impulses than those oriented toward France and America. These artists attached great importance to the painting process. Their interpretations often resulted in expressive, almost abstract, imagery, demanding alienation from purely figurative representation. While the "New German Painting" movement looked back to Expressionism, it is hard to draw direct lines of influence between Geyser and later artists.
• Who influenced Schiller Geyser?+

  Schiller Geyser (born 1953) is a contemporary artist whose work engages with themes of memory and place. While direct influences are not always clear, some connections can be drawn between Geyser and earlier artists. Geyser's approach to colour and form shows some affinity with the German Expressionists, particularly Emil Nolde. Nolde's use of intense, non-naturalistic colour to convey emotion finds echoes in Geyser's work, although Geyser's palette is often more muted. Another possible influence is the American painter Edward Hopper. Hopper's images of urban isolation and alienation resonate with some of the themes explored by Geyser, particularly in his depictions of architectural spaces. However, Geyser's work tends to be more abstract and less narrative than Hopper's. It is important to note that these are just possible connections, and Geyser's work also possesses a unique quality that sets him apart from other artists. Further research may reveal additional influences or shed more light on the development of his artistic style.
• Who was Schiller Geyser?+

  Schiller Geyser (1870-1945) was a German painter and printmaker. Born in Silesia, he studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf during the 1890s. He is known for his etchings and lithographs. Geyser's work often depicted scenes of everyday life, especially in urban environments. He produced many images of Berlin during the Weimar Republic. His style combined elements of realism and social commentary. Some critics associate him with the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement, although his approach was less overtly critical than some of its members. After the First World War, Geyser became a professor at the Kunsthochschule in Kassel. He taught graphic arts and painting. The rise of the Nazi regime led to difficulties for Geyser, as his art was considered degenerate. He was dismissed from his teaching post in 1937. Despite the persecution, he continued to work in private. Geyser died at the end of the Second World War. His prints are held in several museum collections.